quinta-feira, outubro 20

«Greece has been affected more by the financial turmoil beginning in 2007 than any other European country. 15 years of consecutive growth in the Greek economy have reversed. In adults, unemployment has risen from 6•6% in May, 2008, to 16•6% in May, 2011 (youth unemployment rose from 18•6% to 40•1%),1 as debt grew between 2007 and 2010 from 105•4% to 142•8% of gross domestic product (GDP; €239•4 billion to €328•6 billion) compared with the average change in the EU-15 (the 15 countries that were EU members before May 1, 2004) from 66•2% to 85•1% of GDP in this same period (€6•0 trillion to €7•8 trillion).2 Greece's options were limited, since its Government ruled out leaving the Euro, precluding them from one of the most common solutions in such circumstances: devaluation. To finance its debts, Greece had to borrow €110 billion from the International Monetary Fund and Eurozone partners, under strict conditions that included drastic curtailing of government spending. Whereas other countries in Europe (eg, France, Germany) now show signs of economic recovery, the crisis continues to evolve in Greece; industrial production fell by 8% in 2010.3Richard Horton4 has asked whether anyone is looking at the effect of the economic crisis on health and health care in Greece, in light of the adverse health effects of previous recessions.5 Here, we describe changes in health and health care in Greece on the basis of our analysis of data from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions,6 which provide comparable cross-sectional and longitudinal information on social and economic characteristics and living conditions throughout the EU.»

...Lancet, Early Online, 10 October 2011, "Health effects of financial crisis: omens of a Greek tragedy"link